Primary elections are over, and a full slate of promising candidates is sure to get even more attention in coming months.

The Clipper welcomes the election season with open arms — after hours upon hours of city meetings, we know well how important these municipal races are. In many ways, the men and women leading your city as mayors and city councilmembers have more impact on your life than national leaders such as senators and presidents.

Nevertheless, we realize that it can be more difficult for local politicians to get their messages out than those national figures, because money from corporate sources and political action committees is simply unavailable.

The Clipper’s policy for letters to the editor and columns from candidates has come under criticism this election season for striking the wrong balance on these issues, the importance of local elections compared to the need candidates have to be noticed. After publishing one column from Bountiful City Council candidate John Pitt after he announced his intentions, we published one by competitor Kendalyn Harris. Then, we allowed all letters from any candidate through the remainder of the primary season and included their candidate status in the name of full disclosure.

Ultimately, this meant that some candidates got more ink than others, and the policy was perceived as unfair.

Recently, the editorial board reached a decision.

In the future, the Clipper will not publish letters from any candidates who have announced their intentions between the filing deadline and the general elections.

However, we are happy to publish letters about these candidates from any other readers, even if those readers are on candidates’ campaign staffs.

This way, we hope to offer these pages as an important forum for issues relating to municipal elections while simultaneously being fair to all candidates.

We hope you, our readers, will write us often about what you see happening. What are your thoughts on political lawn signs? How about city budgets С have they been managed wisely, and which candidates’ positions do you support? What about Stericycle, the transferring of money from electrical funds, or plans for the West Davis Corridor? Who, if anyone, is flat-out wrong? Tell us, and thousands of our readersy, just what you think.

These editorial pages are set aside weekly as a space for opinions and thoughts from the community. With this policy change, we hope to provide the chance for everyday people to wield the power of the pen.

Email me by Tuesday at noon at rpalmer@davisclipper.com or by following the links at davisclipper.com. You can also send letters to 1370 S. 500 West, Woods Cross, 84010, and they will be considered for publication if they arrive by the Tuesday deadline.